Google has been using a secret program called “Project Bernanke” for years to increase its customers’ chances of providing a competitive advertising space Wall Street Journal Reported Saturday, citing court documents filed in the Texas-led antitrust suit against Google. The state argues that the program gives Google an unfair competitive advantage over competing advertising tools, and has allowed publishers to pay less for winning bids.
Ironically, the company wastes the beans on its own secret program. The Journal confirms that the relevant court documents – which were checked by the delivery – although Google has since lifted them under the seal –was submitted by Google earlier this week in response to the Texas case and was not properly distracted when it was uploaded to the court’s public case. Google acknowledged the existence of Project Bernanke in its response.
For anyone unfamiliar with the complex digital advertising world, here’s a very basic outline. Publishers, or the technical name for any website offering ads, sell advertising space on their website. Advertisers place bids for a particular ad space on ad exchanges, such as auction houses where everyone with the highest bid wins the coveted ad space. You can find a more detailed and technical explanation here.
Now back to Google. In the court documents, Google explains that Project Bernanke used data on historical bids made by Google Ads to customize the client – referring to advertisers working with and paying for Google –offer there and give the chance in their favor at advertising auctions, according to the Journal. These efforts have increased Google customers’ chances of winning auctions, which would otherwise be won by competing advertising tools, and also put millions of dollars in revenue into Google’s pocket.
Google has not informed publishers selling ads through its ad buying systems on the existence of Project Bernanke.
G / O Media can get a commission
Exactly how many millions Google made of Project Bernanke is not mentioned in the Journal report. However, Google confirmed that the project is expected to earn $ 230 million in 2013.
According to the Journal, in the submission Google has denied that there was any error in using the exclusive information it had to inform it client offer. The company said it was “comparable to data maintained by other buying instruments.”
The revelation of Project Bernanke is likely to lead to a larger investigation into Google, which has a strong grip on the sales and buyer side of the digital advertising market with its products. In an antitrust meeting of the House Judiciary on major technology in the summer of 2020, lawmakers said cited a study which found that Google controls between 50-60% of the publishing market, or the players who sell their advertising space, and 50-90% of the advertiser’s side, referring to those who buy that advertising space. The majority of Google’s revenue comes from its advertising industry.
In fact, Google’s dominance in the digital advertising market is the subject of the antitrust lawsuit in Texas. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who also has his own range of legal issues, is assert that Google has repeatedly abused its monopolistic power to control the way ads are priced and ad auctions. This behavior, Paxton claims, enables Google to “continually make illegal profits by taking money from the web pages and putting it in their own pockets.”
“In this advertising monopoly on an electronically traded market, Google is essentially dealing with ‘insider information’ by acting as the pitcher, catcher, batter and referee, all at the same time,” Paxton said statement in December. ‘It’s not the’ free market ‘that works here. It is against the market and illegal under state and federal law. ”
The documents also shed light on Google’s Jedi Blue deals with Facebook, the agreement in which Facebook heads and leads the advertising business through Google’s advertising platform. According to the Journal, Facebook must spend $ 500 million or more on Google’s Ad Manager or AdMob auctions under the agreement, among other things.
Gizmodo reached out to Google on Sunday for comment on the Journal report, but by the time of publication he had received no response. We will surely update this blog when we hear it.
In a statement to the Journal, Google spokesman Peter Schottenfels said the complaint misrepresents many aspects of our ad tech business. We look forward to putting our case in court. ”